In Review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M, GTX 770M & GTX 765M

High-end power. The GeForce 700 series is a brand new graphics series for gaming enthusiasts. We were among the first editors who reviewed the new high-end GeForce GTX 765M, GTX 770M, and GTX 780M models. Learn whether the naming is justified or the new models only fine-tune an existing architecture.

Almost at the same time as the AMD Radeon HD 8970M was announced, Nvidia introduced new high-end GPUs for notebooks. Apart from the GeForce GTX 760M, which is not covered by this article, there are the GeForce GTX 765M, the GeForce GTX 770M, and the promising top model, the GeForce GTX 780M. Although the graphics cards are still based on the Kepler architecture, the current generation promises a decent performance gain. The main reason is increased clock rates.

Our review does not only cover the specs and the features, but in particular the (gaming) performance. Is it worth migrating to the new generation or is a graphics card of the predecessor generation still sufficient?

Test systems

We already scrutinized several gaming notebooks with quad core CPUs from the Haswell family and new Nvidia graphics cards about a month before they were finally officially launched.

The first one was the 15-inch Clevo P150SM barebone, which Schenker Technologies made available to us as W503: The GTX 765M notebook houses 16 GB DDR3 RAM, a 750 GB hybrid hard drive and a 128 GB mSATA SSD with pre-installed Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit.

The performance of the GeForce GTX 770M was measured in the One K73-3N, a 17-inch desktop replacement based on the Clevo P170SM barebone. Finally, the results of the GeForce GTX 780M stem from the One K56-3N2 (Clevo P157SM barebone). The latter two notebooks featured 8 GB DDR3 RAM and a 500 GB Samsung SSD 840 with Windows 8 64-bit.

We had to use the old ForceWare 311.27 as GPU driver. The ForceWare 320.21 was released just under a week before the publication of our test and so, too late for this review. However, apart from several new games, the performance difference will be only small and the total result might only change by a few percent.

The difference between the GeForce GTX 770M and the GeForce GTX 675MX is similar. Although the new model features a smaller memory (3072 vs. 4096 MB) and a smaller interface (192 vs. 256-bit), the old graphics card is slower. While the GTX 675MX clocks at 600 and 1,800 MHz, the GTX 770M uses a clock rate of 811 and 2,000 MHz.

The GeForce GTX 780M offers the most impressive specifications. Alike the GeForce GTX 680M the new top model also features 4096 MB video memory and a 256-bit interface. Meanwhile, the shader count of 1,536 is the same as the GeForce GTX 680MX's, which was only used in the Apple iMac so far. Neither the GeForce GTX 680M (720/1,800 MHz) nor the GTX 680MX (720/2,500) can keep up with the new model's clock rates of 823 MHz and 2,500 MHz.

Features

Most of the features are identical to the old generation. A brief summary:

• PhysX:PhysX allows additional effects in several games like Metro: Last Light or Borderlands 2. The graphics card takes over the physics calculations and unloads the CPU. But, the frame rate falls to some extent with hardware PhysX.

• 3D Vision: Nvidia's technology for 3D imaging is still significantly more mature than AMD's. If you own the necessary hardware (120 Hz display, shutter glasses), you can also run games and videos in 3D. Note: Because of technical restrictions not every notebook supports 3D Vision.

• SLI: If desired, two graphics cards can be combined in a so-called SLI-connection (see e.g. Schenker XMG P722). Because of the enormous energy, space and cooling requirements, a dual GPU system is only apt for absolute gaming enthusiasts. The high driver dependence and micro stuttering are further problems. At least Nvidia's driver support is better than AMD's (CrossFire).

• Optimus:Optimus is a dynamic graphics switch. While undemanding tasks like office and web are handled by the GPU integrated into the CPU, games and other 3D tasks run on the dedicated Nvidia GPU. As the technology saves a lot of energy and works reliably, Optimus is used in the high-end range. AMD's graphics switch is called Enduro.

• TXAA: TXAA is an adaptive anti-aliasing method which perfectly balances image quality and performance. Contrary to other methods, there is no stuttering caused by AA. With active TXAA the image appears smoother and does not flicker that much. More and more games support this technology by default (e.g. Assassin's Creed III and Crysis 3).

• GPU Boost: The GPU Boost 2.0 is one of the most interesting updates. In contrast to the GeForce 600 series, automatic overclocking is standard now and depends on energy demand and temperature. So, even higher clock rates are possible. During games, our test devices mostly significantly exceeded the base clock.

GeForce GTX 765M

GeForce GTX 770M

GeForce GTX 780M

Synthetic benchmarks

We restrict the synthetic benchmarks to two DirectX 11 applications. Unigine Heaven V3.0 runs smoothly on the new graphics cards in 1920x1080 pixels and with normal tessellation. With an average of 36 fps, the GeForce GTX 765M ranks in between the GTX 670MX (~34 fps) and the GTX 675MX (~41 fps). The GeForce GTX 770M is about 15% slower than the former top models, GeForce GTX 680M and Radeon HD 7970M (50 vs. 58 fps). The GeForce GTX 780M wins first place: No other notebook graphics card could achieve 76 fps so far.

In the Fire Strike test of the current 3DMark version, the ranking is similar. The GeForce GTX 765M achieves a GPU score of 2,479 points and ranks in between the GTX 670MX (2,371 points) and the GTX 675MX (2,831 points) and the GeForce GTX 770M is again slower than the GTX 680M (3,392 points vs. 3,952 points). Super: The GeForce GTX 780M is about 30% faster than the former top model (5,244 points).

CAD- & OpenCL benchmarks

CAD and OpenCL benchmarks are still AMD territory. The table below proves that the Radeon HD 7970M performs more than 100% better than the competitors from Nvidia. The GTX 780M is only slightly faster than the GeForce GTX 680M. Those who frequently use such programs should either buy an AMD device or a notebook with a professional graphics card (FirePro or Quadro).

Gaming Performance

The ranking of the synthetic benchmarks also applies to games. Overall, the GeForce GTX 780M is a good 40% faster than the GTX 770M and even 90% faster than the GTX 765M. Meanwhile, the Radeon HD 7970M and the GeForce GTX 680M are over 20% slower than the new top model. The GTX 675MX is only about 10% behind the GTX 770M and the GTX 670MX is only 5% slower than the GTX 765M.

If new drivers increase the performance, the differences could somewhat grow. The negative impact of the old driver becomes apparent in BioShock: Infinite.

System noise, temperature and energy demand

As the graphics cards were incorporated in different notebooks, we did not compare emissions and energy demand.

Verdict

The high-end variants of the GeForce 700 series make a good impression on us. On the one hand, Nvidia manages to close some gaps in its line-up (e.g. between the GTX 675MX and the GTX 680M) while offering a quite viable overclocking solution with its Turbo Boost 2.0. On the other hand, specifically the GeForce GTX 780M thrills us with its 30 % increase in performance when compared to its predecessor, enabling us to play almost all recent games at maximum details and with activated anti-aliasing.

The other two, less sophisticated models are also quite fast although some compromises have to be accepted. The performance of the GeForce GTX 770M is not always sufficient to turn all knobs as far as they will go, while the GeForce GTX 765M at times “merely” manages to handle high details and 1.600 x 900 pixels smoothly. Nonetheless, the direct predecessors are outpaced, often noticeably so.